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Theta Mom®

Redefining Motherhood

The Proof is On the Paper

It’s no secret that I am a terrible cook. Everyone in my life knows that my style of cooking is the good old “cut and dump.” If you don’t know about my technical culinary training, then visit this post which fully explains my Cut and Dump method. It really is the only way we roll around here.

Sorry hubs.

Anyhoo, my son recently read Wemberly Worried in school and upon discussing the book (specifically what the character worried about), the class started to talk about the things that they each worry about in their own little seven year-old worlds.

They were given a piece of paper that had a whole list of things to choose from and the directions were to draw a circle around the things that make them worry. I couldn’t fit them all in the photo below, but you’ll get the idea. As you can see, there is quite a list to choose from including:

“When the principal calls me to the office,  when there’s thunder and lightning, when a strange dog comes up to me, when I have to take a test,” and the list goes on…

So what did my son circle?

He’s worried when…

I guess the proof is on the paper.

Thanks honey.

Finding My Footing

I’m writing to tell you I’m alive. And I’m doing well. It’s just been a crazy time in my life these last couple of months. I usually don’t do an “update” kind of post, but I felt the need to share what’s been going on recently – and why I’ve been a bit MIA.

Well, MIA from the blog maybe, but I’m never far from Twitter.

Since August, I feel like I’ve been traveling at the speed of light with nearly no end in sight. Upon the move, my kids were whisked into new schools and in a blink of an eye, Sandy hit. And before I could even blink my eyes again, Thanksgiving came and went. And now we are smack in the middle of one of my most favorite holidays.

Every year around this time, I usually begin to slow the pace a bit.

I try to stop and smell the roses.

I revel in this time with my family.

For me, it’s about following favorite holiday traditions from my own childhood and making tons of new memories with my own kids, like decorating our beloved Christmas tree.

And as we enter the final month of 2012, I begin to reflect on my blog over the course of the last twelve months. I think about where it’s been and I want it to go in the New Year. It’s almost like a rebirth, the chance to travel on a new journey with a renewed vision.

 

The best way I can describe it is like wearing your favorite jeans that still look and feel great, but just pairing them with a brand new pair of heels; same great fit with some new added style and dimension – and that’s the plan for Theta Mom® in 2013. So, until I find my footing with those new pair of heels, I am going to remain in my favorite jeans that I’ve come to adore for the last three years – and of course, enjoy every minute I can with these two faces.

Rising Up to Restore the Shore

“The Jersey Shore that I know and love is gone.” – Jon Bon Jovi, on the Today Show.

        

As a native Jersey girl, I grew up at the Jersey Shore.

I grew up in a house that was on the mainland, but I was one of the lucky ones whose parents also owned a home right at the beach. So of course, I spent every single summer at my parent’s beach house. I have a million memories from the shore as a child and as I got older, I even worked every summer through high school and college at local retail stores and restaurants right near the beach.

 It was a way of life.

It’s all I’ve ever known and once I started having children, those memories I made would be passed down to them and they would experience the Jersey Shore for themselves.

Our summer home has been in my family’s name since the 1940’s and it’s been passed on from generation to generation. Even my parents have memories as children there, as do I and most recently, my own children have started to make tons of memories there.

The thing is, with the popularity of the MTV show, I always felt the need to defend the Jersey Shore – My Jersey Shore, the REAL Jersey Shore. Over the years, in the midst of defending the shore and claiming our stake as it being a great place to raise kids, our bungalow has fared its way though several storms, some of them considerable that required repairs. Last year, Hurricane Irene swept in forcing my parents to actually rebuild. And without hesitation, they did – never thinking that less than a year later it would happen all over again, but this time, even far worse.

In late August, my husband and I moved to the Jersey Shore seeking a better life for our kids. More importantly, we wanted better schools – and we most certainly wanted to be closer to family. And the beach practically in our backyard? It was a total added bonus for us.

Here I am on the beach with my kids on October 22, 2012 – marveling at the fact that the beach is practically in our backyard and grateful as we begin to settle in to our new roots at the Jersey Shore – never in my wildest dreams could I ever imagine that exactly SEVEN DAYS LATER, the Jersey Shore as we know it would be changed forever…

After some careful consideration and listening to numerous reports that the shore was going to be directly affected by the wrath of Hurricane Sandy on October 29th, we knew that staying in our home wouldn’t be the safest place for us and our children. Although we live inland and flooding wasn’t a concern, the amount of trees surrounding our property certainly was.

Every bedroom was a potential problem and looking at the force of those wind projections, we knew it was inevitable we had to go. So I grabbed a photo of my kids, my wedding album and a bottle of wine before heading out the door to my parent’s house. Leaving our home, I was frightened with the possibility of what Sandy could do. And thinking about the rest of my family who resides at the shore, it was an absolute nightmare. Even though the officials and forecasters were predicting the worst, at the eleventh hour, I was *still* holding onto some sort of glimmer of hope that Sandy would take another track and spare us from any devastation.

But, as you all know, she took the track that was most predicted and ultimately made landfall along the Jersey Shore, carrying the strongest storm surge ever recorded and wind gusts and rainfall that were unimaginable.

Once Sandy made impact, my family and I huddled together in darkness, listening to the wind gusts and the falling rain, fearing what we would find when it was all over.

Once the storm passed, all I could do was listen to my mom’s transistor radio.

I hung on every word as I heard the reports that were coming in from local and state officials and each report seemed to be worse than the one preceding.

We were beginning to fear the worst.

The reality was, when Sandy finally moved on, the destruction and devastation she left us with was simply unthinkable.

“The Jersey Shore that I know and love is gone.”

I can’t even begin to put into words how I feel.

I can’t even begin to describe the impact this will have on my parent’s lives, my own life and my children’s lives. And that just scratches the surface…

There are thousands of people who are now homeless.

There are many people who are unemployed because their places of employment are destroyed.

There are so many children who need to attend new schools, in addition to enduring the pain and burden of losing their own homes.

There are thousands of people, who as I write this, are still without power.

There are thousands and thousands of people, including some of our family and friends who have been directly impacted by this storm.

In addition to the Jersey Shore, places such as Staten Island, NYC and Long Island were also badly hit and it’s devastating.

My heart breaks for those who are in pain and those who are suffering from loss during this storm.

And my heart aches with the realization that our coastline has been changed forever – but I am hopeful that one fine day, we will restore our beloved Jersey Shore.

One fine day indeed.

This post doesn’t even begin to describe what I feel in my heart. I have so much I want to say but I am still searching for the right words. The Jersey Shore is at the inner core of who I am as a person, it is my hometown, my place of refuge – and it’s where I live today. It’s also the place where I made every single childhood memory. I hope that in the coming days, weeks, and months, I will be able to tell you my story and hope in due time, my writing will begin to help me heal.

I hope wherever you are that you are safe and seeking your own inner peace from the wrath of Sandy. If possible, please make a donation to local communities here in NJ. These places and people are suffering and need your assistance. You can make a donation to the Red Cross by donating online or via the phone by calling 1-800-HELP-NOW.You can follow various hashtags on Twitter such as #Sandy #SandyHelp #SandyRelief #SandyAid to get the latest information and how you can help.

Finally, thank you so much for your texts, tweets, comments, emails and concerns – it has once again helped me get through a very trying time.

xoxoxoxo

The Perfect Holiday Card

Tiny Prints is a company that has grown from a small, self-funded start-up to one of the biggest online retailers of savvy and stylish prints anywhere. Tiny Prints is probably best known for their gorgeous line of birth announcements and baby shower invitations. However, this company quickly branded itself to offer full card collections that meet the needs of every special occasion, so now you can send a Tiny Print for just about anything! And year after year, more and more people count on Tiny Prints as their go-to place for the infamous holiday card, myself included.

That’s right Theta Moms® it’s that time of year already when we need to begin thinking about ordering holiday cards! I always say the hardest part is selecting just one favorite design from Tiny Prints because there are so many beautiful cards to choose from. For this sponsored post, I reviewed cards from their Christmas Photo Cards.

I love this Christmas card with so many pops of color. If you are looking for a card that allows you to add more than two photos, check out so this “pop of color” card which provides five full spaces to upload some awesome photos.

Many cards have different color options and formats available which truly creates a total customized experience to fit your needs. For example, if you adore the layout of a specific card but want to change some of the text, you have the capability to do that. In addition, the ordering process is an absolute snap so changing the text and uploading a photo is completely effortless and seamless.  The photo always turns out clear and the card itself is made with heavyweight cardstock, so those elements together demonstrate the overall outstanding quality of this card.

If you’re looking for a card with a gorgeous design and one photo option, check out this card which provides plenty of room above the text to add in one killer photo:

For me, the best part about Tiny Prints (aside from their excellent customer service) is the unbeatable quality of the cards. It truly is one of the most professional and “classy” kind of card to send and I can’t wait to mail them out to my family and friends this holiday. It’s by far a pleasure to shop this online site!

So have fun shopping this holiday season at Tiny Prints and be sure check out their Special Offerspage for exclusive savings and related discounts! You can also stay up to date with the latest product information by following Tiny Prints on Twitter and Facebook.

Theta Mom® abides by word of mouth marketing standards and believes in honesty of relationship, opinion and identity. Tiny Prints is a proud sponsor of Theta Mom and I was compensated to create custom made cards in order to facilitate this review. However, all opinions expressed are purely my own and the content of this post was not influenced in any way.

Priceless

My family and I have dealt with so much transition in the last few months. Since we moved, there have been many adjustments that needed to be made and in the early days of the move, you already know the online world and blogosphere helped me get through that difficult time.

At first, I missed being close to New York City.

I missed the hustle and bustle of life in a busy suburb practically in the backyard of a major metropolis.

But upon moving, what I didn’t miss was the major traffic and congestion and soon later, I no longer missed life in the fast lane.

I actually started to really settle in to these quiet roots down here. And having grown up and spending all of my childhood days down the shore, I started to remember what I love most about being here.

Like my mom always says, “With everything in life – there’s always a tradeoff.”

So how do I feel about the move now?

Priceless.

I wouldn’t trade it for the world.